Day Tripping: November 23

Musical Mime

Born on the Upper Eastside of Manhattan in 1888, Adolph was the second oldest son of Sam and Minnie Marx but went by the name Arthur. Often bullied at school, he dropped out at the age of eight after failing the second grade for the second time.

Arthur joined his brother Chico doing odd jobs around the neighborhood to supplement the family income. One of those jobs was playing the piano to accompany silent films.

In 1910, Arthur and his brothers Julius and Milton formed a comedy trio called the Three Nightingales. They later changed to The Marx Brothers and Arthur became the silent actor because he couldn’t remember his lines.

“I don’t know whether my life has been a success or a failure. But not having any anxiety about becoming one instead of the other, and just taking things as they come along, I’ve had a lot of extra time to enjoy life.”

He was a gifted musician as a child and took to playing the harp as a boy. He never learned to read music though he paid professionals to teach him harp technique. Instead, music tutors sat in wonder watching Arthur’s unique style.

When the act went on the road, the silent musician became Harpo with siblings Groucho and Gummo. Wearing a bright red wig and using props to express himself, Harpo Marx’s mime genius carried most of the physical aspects of the group’s antics.

Today is:

National Cashew Day — nutty goodness, and the best of them all.

Musical Ride

Queen frontman Freddie Mercury made a statement to the world in 1991 that he was battling AIDS. In his speech, Freddie called on the world to help in the fight of defeating the disease.

Interesting Notes

The first episode of Doctor Who aired in 1963.

Gone But Not Forgotten

Larry Hagman gained television fame as astronaut Major Nelson on I Dream of Jeannie. Then, he enjoyed an Emmy-winning run as J.R. Ewing on Dallas. Hagman was 81 when he died in 2012.

Notable Births

1887 — Boris Karloff: “The monster was the best friend I ever had.”

1954 — Bruce Hornsby: “I feel like what I owe my audience is what I’m most passionate about.”

K. Barrett Maria Rattray Maryam Merchant Dr. Mehmet Yildiz Tree Langdon Myriam Ben Salem Phil Truman Chelsea Mandler MAT Terry Mansfield Hollie Petit, Ph.D. Terry Trueman Dr. Preeti Singh John Gruber Bill Abbate James G Brennan ScienceDuuude Marcus Liam Ireland Claire Kelly Noorain Hassan, BMS Amy Pierovich David Acaster Nora Thewriteyard David Perlmutter Joe Luca Holly Kellums Michael Burg, MD Lucy Dan Dave Logan

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The Story Of Day Tripping Through History What’s Past Is Often Present

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